Volunteer firefighter numbers continue to decline across Manitoba – Winnipeg [Video]

It’s a quiet spring evening in Winnipeg Beach, Man., a resort town an hour north of Winnipeg.

The fire department in town, however, is buzzing. Various volunteer firefighters from across the Interlake are gathering for training.

One of the firefighters taking part is Steven Kneisz, who is with Gimli Fire and Rescue.

“I always wanted to be a firefighter. The goal is full-time but always wanted to do this since I was a kid,” said Kneisz.

Kneisz has been a volunteer firefighter for three years. Just over two of those have been with Gimli’s department.

He thinks it’s a great way to serve the community on top of working full-time.

Whether it’s for fires, collisions or medical emergencies, volunteers answer all sorts of calls when there is trouble in their communities.

Volunteers make up about 70 per cent of departments across Canada.

“We’re the backbone of the fire service and we’re having increasing problems finding …